Drawbridge



(No Model.) '2 Sheets-Sheet f1.

B. L. WORDEN.

DRAWBRIDGE.

No. 534,704. Patented Feb. 26, 1895.

Witnesss:

THE "cams mews 00v, Purroumcz. WASHINGTON. o c.

10 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. B. L. WORDEN. DEAWBRIDGE.

Patented Feb. 26, 1895.

warneys.

- UNITED STATES PATENT FFIGfEf.

BEVERLEY L. WORDEN, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

DRAWBRIDGE.

SPECIFICiATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 534,704, dated February 26, 1895.

A plication filed February 23, 1894. Serial No. 501,142. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BEVERLEY L. WORDEN, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented.certain new and useful Improvements in Drawbridges; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description 'of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention-relates to lifting or vertically swinging draw-bridges. Its main objects are to afford a clear and unobstructed channel bet-ween the abutments when the bridge is open, a continuous and unobstructed road or passage way from end to end when the bridge is closed, to stifien and strengthen the structure, to reduce the weight and quantity of material required, and to facilitate and generally improve the construction and operation of bridges of this class.

It consists in certain novel features in the construction andarrangement of the component parts of the bridge and particularly of its supporting and operating connections, as

hereinafter particularly described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings like letters designate the same parts in the several figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved bridge closed. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the bridge open, one of the supports in each figure being shown in vertical section. Figs. 3 and 4 are detailviews on a greatly enlarged scale, of mechanism for opening and closing the bridge, Fig. 3 being a vertical section on the line 8, 3, Fig. 4, and Fig. 4 a similar section on the line 4, 4, Fig. 3; and Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views on an enlarged scale of one of the latches or looking devices by which the bridge sections are secured and held in their closed positions; Fig. 5 being an inside elevation of a portion of one of the girders, and

- Fig. 6 a vertical crosssection on the line 6, 6, r Fig. 5.

' vertically folding sections, which when closed,

as shown in Fig. 1, abut at their outer ends In describing my improved bridge I shall refer to that end of each section next to the support or abutment as the inner end, and the opposite or overhanging as the outer end. The supports to which the bridge sec* tions. are hinged, and from which they are braced, as hereinafter explained, are composed ofabutments i '5 having well openings in the tops for the reception of the jointed supporting braces'when the bridge sections are folded in opening the bridge, and iron or steel towers c c, which rest upon said abutments and to which the members ago of the bridge sections are hinged or pivoted. Each section is supported at its outer end on each side by jointed braces pivoted at their lower ends to the towers c c, and at their upper ends to the outer members I) b of the bridge sections, and each composed of two sections, e and e, pivoted to each other at g. The inner ends of the members a, a are connected on each side by braces h h with the braces e e, at or near their joints g, so that when the sections are unfolded and the bridge is closed, the sections e and e of the main braces will be in line with each other, the most advantageous position for sustaining the overhangin the abutments '5 i.

old are braces pivoted at their lower ends to. the towers c c and connected at their'upper ends with the members a o, by links ff, which permitsaid members to swing freely on their hinge or pivot connections in openingand closing the bridge, but retain the upper ends of said braces in proper position to abut against the girders of the members a a with which they are connected, and thus support said members when the bridge is closed, as

shown in Fig. 1. In connection with these braces (161,1 employ latches or locking devices for securing and holding the bridge sections in their closed positions and preventing aload on, the outer overhanging ends of the members b b from accidentally lifting the outer ends of the inner members a a to which they are pivoted. One of these latches is shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6, and consists of a loop f on the linkfwhich is projected upwardly through an opening in the flange of the bridge girder, and a sliding bolt or harp secured to said girder by a suitable keeper and adapted to be inserted in and withdrawn from said loop by suitable connections, as shown in Fig. 5.

For operating the bridge I may employ mechanism like or similar in construction and arrangement to that shown in Figs. 3 and i, in which m designates a cross shaft carried by the sections 6 e of the jointed braces near their pivot connection g with the sections e e, and provided with pinions Z lwhich engage with curved racks lo, one of which is socured to each side of the well in abutment 'i, concentric with the pivot connection of the brace sections e with the tower o. By turning this shaft min the proper direction, the pivot connection 9 between the brace sections 6 and Q will be moved down or up, and through the connections hereinbefore described the bridge will be opened or closed. For turning the shaft on, it may be provided with a worm gear 71 engaged and driven by a worm 0 connected with any suitable kind of motor or convenient source of power. It is obvious that the racks k may be attached to the jointed braces instead of to the abutments, and that the shaft m may be supported in stationary bearings. Such an arrangement would simplify and facilitate the connection of the cross shaft n with its source of power, and under certain conditions is preferable to that first described.

When the bridge is built in two sections,

as shown, the outer end of one section may be provided with one or more projections which may consist of cylindrical bars q, and the outer end of the other section formed or provided with recesses or seats 0" for the re ception of said bars, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. By this means the bridge sections are made to mutually support each other at their meeting ends and they are guided into and firmly held in line when the bridge is closed.

To facilitate the operation of thebridge in opening and closing, one or more counterweights to to, may be applied to the jointed braces so as to cause the center of gravity of each section to move approximately in a horizontal line in opening and closing the bridge. By this means the motive power will be required only to overcome internal friction and external forces, such as wind pressure.

It will be observed that the structure hereinbefore described is entirely supported and operated by means of connections below the fioorin g of the bridge, and that the material of which the bridge and its connections are constructed, is disposed to the best advantage to secure strength and stiffness. The material required for the cumbersome towers or structures of bridges which are supported from above the roadway, is thus saved.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the details of construction and arrangement of the supporting and operating connections herein shown and described, as they may be changed in various ways without departure from the spirit and intended scope of my invention. Under certain conditions where the channel to be spanned is. not too wide, a single folding section maybe employed and pivotally connected with a support on one side of the channel only. Where vertical space is limited and insufficient for the folding of the jointed braces cc, constructed and arranged as shown, the pivot connections of these braces with the bridge sections, may be carried above the flooring of the bridge. In short, various changes in the details of construction and arrangement of the component parts of the bridge and its connections may be made without departure from the spirit of my invention.

I claim- 1. A draw-bridge comprising two vertically folding sections hinged by their inner members to supports on opposite sides of the channel to be spanned and braces pivoted at their upper ends to the outer members of the folding sections and at their lower ends to supports below the roadway on opposite sides of the channel, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. I

2. The combination with supports on opposite sides of the channel to be spanned of a draw-bridge consisting of two vertically folding sections, each hinged at or near its inner end to an adjacent support and composed of two members hinged together, and braces pivoted at their upper ends to the outer-members and at their lower ends to suitable supports, said sections when closed forming an arch, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination with a suitable support on one side of the channel to be spanned, of a vertically folding bridge section hinged to said support and composed of two members hinged to each other, and braces pivoted at their upper ends to the outer member and at their lower ends to a support below the roadway, substantially as and for the'purposes set "forth.

4. In a draw-bridge, the combination with a suitable support on one side of the channel to be spanned, of a vertically folding bridge section hinged at or near one end to said support and composed of members hinged to each other, and jointed braces pivoted at their upper ends to the outer member and at their lower ends to said support, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In a draw-bridge, the combination with a suitable support on one side of the channel to be spanned, of a vertically folding bridge section hinged at or near one end to said support and composed of two members hinged to each other, jointed braces pivoted at their upper ends to the outer member and at their lower ends to said support, and braces pivoted at their lower ends to said jointed braces and at their upper ends to the inner member of the bridge section, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a draw-bridge, the combination with a suitable support on one side of the channel to be spanned, of avertically swinging bridge section hinged at or near its inner end to said support, and braces pivoted at their lower ends to said support and linked at their upper ends to said bridge section, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In a draw-bridge, the combination with a suitable support on one'side of the channel to be spanned, of a vertically swinging bridge section hinged at or nearits inner end to said support, and composed of two members hinged together, braces pivoted at their lower ends to said support and connected at their upper ends by links with the inner member, and a locking device constructed and arranged to secure said member when the bridge is closed to the upper ends of said braces, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

8. In a draw-bridge, the combination with a suitable support on one side of the channel to be spanned, of a vertically folding bridge section hinged at or near one end to said support and composed of-two members hinged together; jointed braces pivoted at their lower ends to said support and at their upper ends to the outer member of the bridge section, curved racks concentric withthe pivot connections of said braces therewith, a cross shaft provided with pinions engaging with said racks and means of turning shaft, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

9. In a draw-bridge, the combination with a suitable support on one side of the channel to be spanned, of a vertically folding bridge section hinged at or near one end to said support and composed of two members hinged together, jointed braces pivoted at their lower ends to said support and at their upper ends to the outer member of said bridge section, braces connecting said jointed braces at or near their joints, with the inner member of the bridge section at or near its inner end, curved racks concentric with the pivot connections of the jointed braces therewith, a cross shaft provided with pinions engaging with said racks, and means of turning said shaft, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

10. In a draw-bridge, the combination with a suitable support on one side of the channel to be spanned, ofa vertically folding bridge section, hinged at or near one end to said sup port and composed of two members hinged together, jointed braces pivoted at their lower ends to said support, and at their upper ends to the outer member of the bridge section, and a counterweight applied to said braces, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BEVERLEY L. WORDEN.

Witnesses:

CHAS. L. Goss, E. P. WORDEN. 

